09 Feb Chevre WOWs: Judaism and Contentment

Every Shabbat, some chevre prepare Words of Wisdom, spiritual food for thought to accompany the physical feast. This W.O.W. from the archives describes a Jewish view of contentment.

I read once in a prayer book that we end our lives, “like children falling asleep over their toys.” That is how I want to die.

Someone once told me that if you see a really happy person, you will find that person building a boat, writing a symphony, teaching a kid, growing a garden, or looking for dinosaur eggs. That person will have realized that he or she is happy just being alive in the course of living out each day. Here’s my way of saying the same thing. Get busy and do stuff. Each day is an opportunity. That is my approach and while I am far from perfect, that might be the best thing I have going for myself.

All the time I worry about realizing my long term goals. Now, in Israel I also worry about feeling fulfilled. But in a few, rare content moments, I am satisfied just being alive. Notice by the way that I haven’t said the word ‘happy’ once. I really want to eliminate that word from my vocabulary. Happiness is just too damn elusive to worry about. To live life meaningfully, in small increments, is a much better way – if you get through today, good job. When we compartmentalize our lives into day by day compartments it becomes far less daunting. Life becomes about fulfillment rather than happiness, and a day is a reasonable amount of time to judge how successful you were.

As Americans I think we are obsessed with happiness. When I was a kid my parents never asked me if I was happy, or if I liked summer camp or a teacher or whatever. They cared about what I accomplished, not my happiness. If I told my mother I was sad or mad about something, they said ‘so change it’ and I did. I think now they might have been harsh, but when we all focus on happiness it’s not a good thing. We like to ask each other if we like our boss, our iPad, if we feel positive about our religion. When we do so, I think we are ignoring the vicissitudes of life. There is a ton of stuff out there in life to make us miserable – why would we pretend otherwise? Quite frankly, the search for happiness is probably a chief source of unhappiness.

Survival and fulfilment are genuine goals, while happiness remains elusive. All of us, coming of age when the world is more and more competitive and tougher for a person in their early twenties. We can feel like we’ve got it all and then a test result, a rejected application, news from home can change everything. I recognize that we have it good, and yet in my twenty-four years of life I still cannot figure out the suffering that we experience. Neither could Job. But God didn’t care if Job was happy, he simply illustrated to him (harshly) that there are circumstances in life beyond our control and we have to learn to live with it. Bad things happen to good people and I don’t know why.

This focus on personal happiness is also rather un-Jewish. Egocentrism simply doesn’t play a role in Judaism or Christianity or Islam for that matter. We can look in our tradition to the prophets of Israel who believed that acting beyond themselves to better the lives of others were how to live a sound religious life. Mark Twain (Mark Twain anyone?) once said that “the best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer up someone else.” Pretty true, AND pretty Jewish.

There is an American rabbi, Joshua Liebman, who wrote a book called Peace of Mind. In it, he discusses how the first step to fulfilment in life is how we ought to be content with ourselves. It is one thing, he argues, to be aware of your faults, but he points out that often our own personal happiness is sabotaged by obsessing over those shortcomings. In Judaism, perfection is a striving, NOT a reality, and part of life is being tolerant of those shortcomings in ourselves and those around us. We can channel our own imperfection then towards good, as the Zohar says – there is no light but that which shines from darkness.

I think it follows then, something that I heard that the Dalai Lama once say; “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. But if YOU want to be happy, practice compassion.” I feel that this happiness, a by-product rather than an objective, is genuine fulfilment. This can occur in a myriad number of ways. In the small, I felt better yesterday when I empathized with someone and helped them express themselves, despite a bad mood. Or all the time at Livnot, I see people returning from their community service feeling elated for the day. At the extreme, I was once privileged to hear holocaust survivor Eva Kore speak, in which she discussed her personal decision to forgive Dr. Mengele, the Angel of Death of Auschwitz who experimented on her and her identical twin. Afterwards, she decided that there was simply too much of life remaining ahead of her to experience without worrying about the oppressive burden of her memories there, and with that, she forgave him and moved on to take action in her life. Her experience came to mind when I had the bad luck to be attacked by a mob last week in Jerusalem (I was fine by the way). I can see how in another universe that it would have been a rather scarring experience. But in fact I can’t be bothered with that. Though I can’t claim to understand them, I forgive them too. Guys, “if you want others to be to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”

This idea is the most basic idea in Judaism as I know it. From what little I have seen of Talmud, there is lots and lots of material dealing with the relationship and responsibility of one human being to another. God never did promise us a rose garden. What he did give us was the ability to handle life’s most difficult moments, and the instructions to create a better world not only for ourselves but for others as well. We are not told anything about our personal happiness, but instead that the perfection of the world will come when we create happiness for others.

All of us are going to walk out of here, go about our lives when we return to the US, and we’ll ask all of our friends, family, everyone, “how are you?” The Hebrew question, “mashlomcha” actually translates to asking nothing of our feelings, our happiness: it says, “what is your peace?” Forget about the transient feelings we may or may not have. Instead, ask about peace, internal and external, peace in which we work to create a better world around us.

Shabbat shalom.

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Shayna Rehberg

Shayna Rehberg straddles the Gen X/Millennial divide in Tzfat with her four unique and creative children as an ‘unlabeled’ Jew. In all her spare time she also enjoys music, photography, blogging, collecting knives and teacups, swapping stories, and shopping in the shuk.

Marketing Speciaist

Jordan has joined the Livnot staff upon making Aliyah 2 years ago from New York. He has brought with him a rich set of expertise in the marketing field, and is responsible for fundraising and organizational development at Livnot.

The quality he appreciates most about Livnot is the organization’s ability to stay focused and goal-oriented for over of 30 years!

5 years down the line, Jordan hopes to see the “Beit HaKahal” excavation project up and running, and a central attraction in the North.

Currently residing with his family in the Lower Galilee community of Korazim, Jordan is a a lover of the Hermon and Meron mountains, as well as an avid skier- although his skiing skills are seldom put to use in the Holy Land climate.

Jordan Soreff

Advisor to the Director

Jordan has joined the Livnot staff upon making Aliyah 2 years ago from New York. He has brought with him a rich set of expertise in the marketing field, and is responsible for fundraising and organizational development at Livnot.

The quality he appreciates most about Livnot is the organization’s ability to stay focused and goal-oriented for over of 30 years!

5 years down the line, Jordan hopes to see the “Beit HaKahal” excavation project up and running, and a central attraction in the North.

Currently residing with his family in the Lower Galilee community of Korazim, Jordan is a a lover of the Hermon and Meron mountains, as well as an avid skier- although his skiing skills are seldom put to use in the Holy Land climate.

David Botzer

CEO & Strategic Coordinator

David is the son of Livnot founder Aharon Botzer, and the current director & strategic coordinator of the Livnot programs. An entrepreneur at heart, David has overseen a variety of projects, including the establishment of his current home community- Mevoh Dotan, where He lives with his wife and 4 children.

He was attracted to Livnot out of a desire to assist his father in maintaining the organization’s active programs, as well as recognizing the incredible potential for Livnot to become a hub for Jewish- Zionist activity. He most relates to Livnot’s all-inclusive attitude, allowing for a variety of Jewish people to feel at home within its programs.

5 years down the line, David hopes to see Livnot as a vital part of Jewish experience and activity, both in Israel and in the Diaspora. A former Navy Commando fighter, David puts his “Get it done” attitude to good use!

Lea Saida

Administrator for American Friends of Livnot U’Lehibanot

Lea received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the American University in Washington, D.C. She served as Assistant Program Director at B’nai Brith Women International before making Aliyah. In Jerusalem, she held the title of Director of Student Activities at the American College.

Lea later returned to the United States where she worked from 1992 through 2003 for the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County first as Coordinator for the Federation’s Mission 500 to Israel and then as Director of the Israel Programs Resource Center. She has been with American Friends of Livnot U’Lehibanot since 2003.

Bracha Eitan

Executive Assistant

Bracha was born and raised in Jerusalem, the only “Sabra” in her family who made Aliyah from New York a few years before she was born. Growing up with an English-teaching, literature-loving mother and living among Israelis has given her proficiency in the English and Hebrew languages as well as the ability to be a correct and polite American even while maintaining forthright Israeli chutzpa.

After moving to Tzfat in 2012, the Eitans began regularly hosting Livnot Chevre for Shabbat. In 2016, Bracha left her job of six years as a Financial Aid Advisor at a US-based college, and joined the Livnot team as Aharon Botzer’s assistant.

Bracha lives in southern Tzfat and has a lovely view of the Kinneret with her husband Tzvi, their two kids, and two parrots. She enjoys painting, reading, and hearing good stories.

Tzivia Polsky

Office Manager

Tzivia was born in Israel on Kibbutz Sa’ad and shortly after moved around the USA with her parents. She returned to Israel on Aliyah to attend Hebrew University where she graduated with a degree in Social Research and Anthropology. She married Shmuel shortly afterwards and worked in administrative positions in the center of Israel. A side trip to Chicago to advance academic degrees lasted eighteen years where their three children were born, who are now grown and have blessed their parents with grandchildren.

Returning to Israel in 1994, Tzivia held administrative positions in private industries, and moved to Tzfat to join the Livnot staff in 1996. She serves as the Office Manager, and is kept busy with record keeping, grant writing, translations, correspondence, and is the epicenter of organization and order among the many projects of Livnot.

Banot Sherut Leumi

National Service Women

Banot Sherut Leumi (National Service Women) are young women who serve in different educational and infrastructure needs as an alternative to army service. All programs include two Banot Sherut who have gone through intensive educational training. These young women are madrichot, critical in the building of community within the group and in all aspects of the service-learning program.

Shlomo Tal

Educator

Shlomo Tal was born and raised in Kazakhstan in the Former Soviet Union. At the age of 15 he made Aliyah on his own, and studied Jewish philosophy and spirituality for a decade at various schools around the country. He served in the army as a counter-terror instructor. Shlomo fell in love with Tzfat 18 years ago and has lived there for the last three years as a program coordinator at Livnot, along with his wife, Orly, and their six children. He enjoys music, nature, painting, martial arts, and extreme freedom of thought.

Michael Even-Esh

Senior Educator & Nature Guide

Michael was born and raised in Kansas City. He received a degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism before moving to Israel in 1979. Michael served in the IDF Paratroops, was a nature guide in the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, led exploration teams for the Israel Cave Research Center, spent time as a shepherd in the Galilee, was an organic farmer, and is a licenced tour guide. Since 1991, he’s been working with Livnot U’Lehibanot leading educational hiking trips, teaching classes, and keeping in touch with alumni.

Things he has been quoted as saying:

In a perfect world, your cave guide would not have claustrophobia.

Before you die, try to farm for at least a few minutes.

There is no such thing as a Jewmometer.

Michael also runs “The Jewish Snake Project,” in which he uses live snakes to teach groups about Jewish Values. He lives with his family (and snakes) in the Golan Heights.

Rabbi Dr. Meir Sendor

Resident Scholar

Rav Meir is a recognized scholar in the field of Jewish History, specifically the history of Jewish mysticism, philosophy and medicine. He holds a rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University, a Ph.D. with Distinction from Harvard University and a Master’s from Yale University. Rabbi Sendor lectures widely on his specialties and holds many classes on various Torah topics for all levels.

Meir Paltiel

Program Director

Originally from Syracuse, NY, Meir received his BA in American History and Political Science from Tulane University and his MS in Resource Management from SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry. He arrived in Israel in 1992, served in the Nahal Infantry Unit before moving to Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu. On Kibbutz, Meir was Assistant Manager of the Fisheries.

Meir joined Livnot in 2002 as a Program Coordinator and is currently Director of Programs and Alumni. He and his wife Nechama, live with their six children in Hispin on the Golan.​

Aharon Botzer

Founder & Executive Director

Aharon Botzer and his wife Miriam founded Livnot U’Lehibanot in 1980. Aharon is the organization’s visionary, and has dedicated his life to continually developing unique and relevant programs to strengthen Jewish identity among the unaffiliated. His creativity and wisdom are the driving forces behind Livnot’s growth and expansion, both in programs and in the potential of tapping into Livnot’s many assets and resources.

Aharon was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and has a B.A. in Education from Ohio University. He spent over a year hitchhiking and travelling in Central America, coming to the realization that having a Jewish identity is a treasure. He came to Israel in 1971 to study in Yeshiva, eventually arriving in Tzfat to teach English and Geography to high school students. He has been a licensed tour guide since 1984.

Aharon served as a non-combatant during his regular army service, and until age 56, he volunteered to serve in an infantry unit. Miriam and Aharon are blessed with seven children and many, many grandchildren.